The basis for the last sentence below: New data from David Ho's lab showing that while adults & kids have ~equal antibody responses to XFG & NB.1.8.1, children have essentially no neutralizing antibodies to BA.3.2. This seems to solve the BA.3.2 + kids mystery. 1/14 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

My new piece looks at recent bizarre overestimates of Long COVID rates. Also, how we can be fairly certain that the true rate of Long COVID is now very low in 2026. open.substack.com/pub/gidmk/p/...

Sounds a bit like an iGEM project that went mainstream.

"Nearly 7 years after her first attempt to test Ebola prevention drugs, Jaspard is stunned by the sudden interest in the trial. “I've kept this project for all these years, despite the fact that a lot of people were saying it's not useful, you don't need to do this, go away,” she says." 🧪

Key finding, "Microbiologists (odds ratio [OR], 0.1), lab techs (OR, 0.2), and veterinarians and support staff (OR, 0.3) were less likely than clinicians to be involved in incidents that triggered outbreaks".

No AC In my office, so had to move to a lab bench.

Lots to think about in this paper.

Now marking the first year Mechanisms of Evolution papers. What important event in vertebrate evolution occurred 0.7 million years ago, according to one student?

Bhattacharya’s legacy The US had a “world-class Ebola lab in Frederick, Maryland, with the NIH,” designed to develop vaccines & treatments. The lab would normally be swinging into action. “But that lab was shuttered last year, with staff laid off abruptly”😢 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Lots of bad answers in this pack of exam papers. For example, "Saccharomyces cerevisiae is ..." Who can guess what came next?

Exactly the same thing happened multiple times during the 2013-2016 epidemic in West Africa - it's as tragic today as it was then. It is also a key reminder of why working closely with local communities is so important to getting these outbreaks under control. All of which needs support.

New #ScienceSignaling research performed in vitro and in mice clarifies the molecular origins of uncontrolled inflammatory immune responses in the lungs—a common and severe complication of lung infections. https://scim.ag/4vj1yYb

#immunosky I'm skeptical that nonspecific effects of vaccines can be explained by trained immunity. If you'd humor me (longish 🧵): Trained immunity refers to sustained changes in how cells of the immune system function (more or less responsive) because of epigenetic imprinting.

Genetic variability of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and associations with community transmission www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Seems like the two big Parisian science universities couldn't decide who this campus belongs to.

Baric, who is among the most-cited coronavirus researchers in the world, says his lab’s work played pivotal roles in helping companies bring COVID drugs and vaccines to market, saving millions of lives. “My payment for this is to be debarred?” he asks. “I’m being strung out for being a scientist.“ 🧪

ViralZone Andes virus resource now includes comprehensive outbreak data from the 2026 cruise ship incident. New additions: expanded fact sheets, dedicated glycoprotein pages, complete variant information, and an updated virion illustration. viralzone.expasy.org/11845

I just did an 18-part X thread that starts below, too tired to copy paste it all for BlueSky but if someone would do that I would be appreciative

"Genomic information also shows that the virus involved in the outbreak is similar to Andes viruses already known to circulate in South America, and is not a new variant. There is currently no evidence that this variant spreads more easily or causes more severe disease than other Andes viruses"

A little summary of some events. Version 1.

Complete sequence of Orthohantavirus andesense virus: Swiss resident 2026. In the comments.. "...looks like a likely spillover from the O. longicaudatus rodent Argentina/Chile natural reservoir from a clade of Andes hantavirus that frequently infects humans" virological.org/t/complete-s...

"R0 is not an intrinsic value characteristic of a given pathogen, but rather describes the transmissibility of that pathogen within the specific population and setting under study." www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Among adults 50 years of age or older, fewer cases of confirmed influenza-like illness were observed with an mRNA influenza vaccine than with standard vaccines. Reactogenicity was higher with the mRNA vaccine. Full phase 3 Fluent trial results: https://nej.md/4nfu2z8 #InfectiousDisease

Still time to apply for one of three joint virology PhDs @cvrinfo.bsky.social and @pirbrightinst.bsky.social, including one with myself and the fantastic @peacockflu.bsky.social! Informal enquiries welcome by e-mail (including re the primary location of ours, which is negotiable), deadline 8th May

This is what I’ve meant these many years when I refer to EBM fundamentalism or methodolatry, defined as the profane worship of the randomized controlled clinical trial as the only valid method of clinical investigation.

Happy 100th Birthday to Sir David Attenborough. What a man, what a life, what an inspiration We are lucky to have him still with us. www.reuters.com/world/uk/dav...

Longitudinal wastewater virome surveillance unveils untapped circulating viruses in the community www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Royal visit goes ahead despite shooting The new Private Eye is out now.

Actions have consequences. In this case, deplorable and unnecessary ones.

"These women are somebody's mom, somebody's aunt... somebody's something. They're not supposed to be dying." #WorldImmunizationWeek starts today, & it's #CancerControlMonth. See why the HPV vaccine, developed by Lasker Laureates John T. Schiller & Douglas R. Lowy, is an immunological grand slam. 🧪

End of a really good meeting. Somehow I always feel a little bit out of place at the beginning of these things, and seen to only really enjoy the last day. Off for a wander round Toulouse.

Best slide in the meeting!

Very interesting talks in the virus-environment session. First talk on rat hepatitis E virus in France. I'm a bit surprised they only caught 4 rats in Nantes though.

So I gave my talk at the JFV this morning. I think I was the only person in the whole conference to cut the official ICTV names for my viruses.

Then a fantastic presentation from Aude Bernheim on anti-phage systems, and how to find their homologs in eukaryotes.

Fascinating talk from Stéphane Biacchesi on the subject of Rhabdovirus fish vaccines (yes, that is a thing). Big challenge is to get live attenuated vaccines as it's impossible to inject inactivated vaccines into juvenile fish.

Excellent dinner with my old friend Philippe AKA Mr Viralzone.

Now it's the SFV general assembly run by Noel Tordo. Since I am up to date with my dues, I can vote. I am staying, but a lot of people are leaving to get the drinks and snacks. They better not eat everything, the bastards.

Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti (Pasteur Inst. + UVSQ). Plenary on IAV emergence + pandemic prevention. Concept of species jump as crossing a deep fitness valley. Reassortment and intermediate host as ways to cross this valley. But no big scoop.

JFV Mustapha Si-Tahar (Univ Tours). Anti- inflammatory and antiviral (IAV) effect of cis-aconitate. In mouse model of severe infection, about 50% survival when given 48h post-infection. Much better than oseltamivir.

And we're off... On the train to the SFV meeting in Toulouse. Just 7 hours on the train.

A NEW PHASE OF SARS-COV-2 EVOLUTION? The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has followed a familiar pattern: new variants emerged, spread rapidly across the globe, and replaced their predecessors - triggering successive waves of infection.

My second #ESCMIDGlobal2026 session today is the keynote session given by Eddie Holmes: On virus origin, evolution, and the next pandemic threat

"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."

BBC News - Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80% - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Cool! It's glycolyl neuraminic acid, instead of NeuAc in humans and birds.

In the supplementary tables, almost no reads for BKPyV or JCPyV, but surprisingly MCPyV turns up pretty often. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This made me LOL… 😂